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Gargoyles: Eye Of The Beholder
Reviewed: 08/24/2013
The Beginning Of A Beautiful Corporate Marriage!
So after some mixed results we head to the last two episodes of disc one of volume two and this is the beginning of the sub arc (not unlike the sub arc where Teddy and his friends meet King Nogbert in Teddy Ruxpin) where David Xanatos and Fox (formally of THE PACK~) are now going to get engaged. So for part one; David Xanatos gives Fox a present which causes Fox to go nuts. Yeah; that is the sum of the parts for this episode. So let's rant on shall we...?!
This episode is written by Steve Perry and story edited by Michael Reaves. Animation is done by Walt Disney Animation Japan with additional services done by Nakamura Productions, Takahashi Productions, Studio Cats, Studio Robin, Light Foot and Jade Animation.
Opening Moment #1: We get the recap from The Edge and Leader of THE PACK~ on the Eye of Odin and the ending showing Fox having eyes for David Xanatos and having a kiss together in the limo. Awwwww!
We begin this one at Castle Wyvern AFTER HAPPY HOUR (after dark) as we get a white lettered subtitle on the bottom that sezs October 1st. Well; at least it's not all attitude and in your face like I see in modern cartoons. So we head inside a dining room area that seems to look like from the Dark Ages as Owen is playing waiter tonight. Fox is on one side of the longest table that could fit in the room as both Fox and Xanatos stare at each other with a combination of grinning and boredom. Logic break: on the far shot; we see that Fox has an oversized tea cup; while David has no tea cup whatsoever. When Owen comes over to Fox and pours tea; the tea cup is normal size. Even dumber; when Owen comes over to David's side, the tea cup magically appears out of nowhere. And while I'm at it; isn't having Fox on the opposite side of the room just a subtle way of saying this relationship is on the rocks now? Wouldn't they sit together in one corner in perfect harmony? It just doesn't make sense. Xanatos gets up and wants Fox to marry him which startles Fox while she is drinking tea. David claims that they are perfect for each other in every way; but Fox wonders if they are in love. David states that they are as he shows her a box. Fox opens it and grabs the Eye of Odin; and that proves to be the deal sealer if you will. They kiss and we fade to black to turn Michael Eisner on. On crap; not this show too! So we go outside on the streets of NYC with a shot of a costume store with Halloween decorations as it's October 30th; the eve of Saint Hallows Eve. We see Eliza walk out with a white sheet of some sort to her car as there is a huge banner in the background advertising a block party on Saint Hallow's Eve. Then we hear screaming and windows are seen breaking from a general store as a old man with white hair runs out; and it is clearly the same guy from Reawakening (I'm guessing that the downtown has gotten a lot more customers since the gargoyles took care of that robber); as Eliza walks in and has her gun on stun mode. She slowly walks in heading towards the glass breaking as a carton of eggs goes flying and Eliza turns around and notices a werewolf eating stuff. Huh?
Eliza orders the werewolf to freeze; but the werewolf stalks Eliza back over the counter and then she collides with the TRIPLE X PORNO FLOUR OF DOOM (even in this show? For shame!) as we get a good shot of the brown furred werewolf and the Eye of Odin is clearly around it's neck, so either someone stole it and wore it; or it was Fox wearing it. Eliza is grabbed by the red coat as Eliza notices the Eye of Odin and the gray patch over the right eye is clear that this is Fox, so Eliza bashes the bag of porno flour over Were-Fox's head and she crawls over to get her gun as the sirens wail and Eliza notices the police cars are outside. Eliza turns around to the camera and apparently; Werefox is gone. So we scene change to outside as the place is sealed off with barricades and police cars as we pan over to Eliza using a towel to wipe off the flour (it'll never come out fully since it's porno flour) as Morgan comes over and makes a joke about mopping up afterwards and saying trick or treat. Eliza proclaims that every night is trick or treat. I love real comments that aren't supposed to be real comments. And wouldn't you know it; Travis is back for the first time since the season one finale! We find out that Werefox was first spotted on October 4th; which was three days after David gave Fox the Eye of Odin. Lovely! We get B&W footage of Werefox causing some havoc in the city; but not much havoc while Travis claims that the attacks have increased since then. We see the footage being cut as we are in Xanatos' office with David on remote and Owen doing nothing. David is not exactly amused by these sighting as the door opens and in comes Fox barefoot wrapped in a trench coat and hat; implying that she stole some man's clothes; or worse. Xanatos asks where she has been and Fox claims that she took a walk outside. David asks about the Eye of Odin and Fox claims that she wears it all the time around her neck. She then sells a stomach virus and leaves while David tells them to invoke Plan A.
So we head to the empty streets of NYC near a few stores as it's October 31st now as we see a cowboy kid and a ghost kid running with glee because it's Saint Hallow's Eve. And then we jump cut to a statue of Goliath as it's already dark and he's still a stone statue. The shadow falls and the gargoyles live again! Lexington is giddy beyond belief because it's Saint Hallow's Eve and when it comes to Gargoyle rules of engagement; it's NO HOLDS BARRED~! Brooklyn proclaims that they can walk freely in the streets and no one will know who they are as Broadway proclaims that no one will know what they are. HAHA! I love real comments that aren't supposed to be real comments. Brooklyn is not amused by that comment as Eliza walks up and asks if Goliath has a moment and all but Goliath walk away as they exchange notes. Goliath holds Eliza's hand and expresses him coming to protect her; but Eliza points out that this would not work. Except this attack took place at night when Goliath was not a stone statue, so the example of "we are all fragile" doesn't work here. Eliza does thank him for showing concern for her as we head to an open window and see Fox (in trench coat and hat) looking out it. Fox has the Eye Of Odin around her neck as she seems to be gasping as David opens the door and walks in proclaiming that he would like to have the Eye of Odin back for engraving reasons. Yeah sure David. Fox no sells and turns like crazy as she does this really whacky transformation into a werewolf. So THIS is where that TaleSpin fan got the idea of Rebecca Cunningham turning into a werewolf. Although this is still better than another fan's desire to have TaleSpin character being super balloon fat. David's selling is great here and it's the first realization that he is not Shere Khan in terms of emotion. Fox does a great job howling and screaming as David gasps in horror and that ends the segment seven minutes in. Wow; first break is only three paragraphs long?!
After the commercial break; we have David backing up as there is a bed in the background on the left side. David brings out the dart gun saying "I thought so". As in; he knows Fox was Werefox all along and shoots a dark in the upper chest. Werefox pulls it out easily and no sells. David tries again taking some steps back and Werefox swipes the dart gun from his hands and invokes the WEREFOX BEARHUG OF DEATH on him. This would have been funnier if she turned into a rabid bear. Maybe Kit Cloudkicker going transgender like. That would have been neat! David is pinned to the bed as he yells for Owen and Owen appears from behind and shoots a dart with a red flashing light on it. I refuse to believe that it was blood. Werefox scratches the bed which David wiggles and backward rolls to grab a blue curtain and Owen and David tackle Werefox down and cover her with the blue sheet. She rips through the thing with ease and destroys the door that Owen closed when he came in. Werefox runs in hallway to the elevator and rips the elevator open and slides down the cables. We go one floor down as the alarms go off (just now? That alarm system needs to be replaced, STAT!) as the elevator door opens with a bright flash of white light. And yes folks; the Bad Episode Police....ERRRRR... I mean the SWAT team is back for more monster hunting, I guess. They shoot; she growls and pounds all three of them with ease and then runs through the hallways as we cut to outside with a shot of Xanatos' tower with a sound effect that sounds like they stole from Final Fantasy VI or even more rare; Live A Live. Live A Live is an RPG from Square; featuring a cowboy and martial arts contest only in RPG form. So we head to Xanatos office on the sky shot as Owen informs David who is sitting at his chair, at his desk looking out the window; that she has left the building and her metabolism is functioning at a phenomenally accelerated rate. Owen claims that her system will burn out by morning and then sezs she'll die. Guys; you are not beating Batman in the ratings. Stop taunting them!
Xanatos acts all unemotional throughout this as he wishes he never gave her that present as he calls it spilled milk. Lovely! David wants to go to plan B which must be B2 because the real plan B is throwing a temper tantrum. Thankfully; Owen simply dials on his cellphone and David looks out the window feeling gravely concerned for Fox now. So we head into the public library as Eliza walks down the hallway. She goes to the back as Goliath is on a stool (NOT THAT ONE!) and reading a book about werewolves; which is somewhat out of character for him actually. Eliza notices him and tells him that some unknown guy has given a tip to the werewolf's whereabouts as Goliath is shocked as we get a shot of the pages of the book and we do the clawing scene changer of doom and go to the skies as we see Red Goliath return once again. He obviously cares more about Fox than himself here because if it was the other way around; he would have just sent the android Coyote. Unless he's still in the shop after Leader of THE PACK~! So Red Goliath flies over the skies as Owen informs him of where Fox is. Fox is on the roof tops in one shot and then seems to jump down and land right in front of a meat processing plant. I'm guessing this werewolf is the rabid version of Tummi now. David lands in the parking lot as the door is already busted open in another jump cut. Xanatos uses his inferred scanners and goes into red eyes mode right in front of the hard camera. David slowly walks in carrying a flashlight which is connected to a BBQ tank like cannon. He looks around as we see various racks of meat hanging as Werefox is eating one of them while David proclaims that she is maintaining energy by eating constantly. So she's going to die from an exploding stomach and heart. Okay. So we play hide and seek for awhile as the scanners finally pick up Werefox (in complete silence; only music is playing) as she appears out of nowhere and jumps Red Goliath; ripping the right pipe connected to him to shreds. David falls on his ass and takes the helmet off as Werefox pounces on David, so David nails her in the midsection with the BBQ TANK GUN OF DEATH!
Werefox sells...for about three second as it's another dart gun. For goodness sakes David; you done this three times and it's clear whatever you are using is not working! So Werefox grabs David as they look eye-to-eye and we see a tease of Werefox going for the kill; but Werefox suddenly stops the glowing eyes and for just a split second, her eyes are normal. The Eye of Odin flashes and she goes back to were mode as she drops David and bails away stage left. This is Felices Meats by the way as Werefox crashes through the window and then drops onto the ground and pants like a dog. Then another shadow from the sky approaches as Goliath comes down and invokes the flying kick on Werefox's face and she goes flying into paper box like packages stacked up. Werefox gets up as Eliza is in Goliath's arms during that kick. Goliath goes into white eyes mode as he drops Eliza gently onto the ground and we circle as Werefox is turning into a full wolf now and on all fours. Then Goliath breaks the ice by punching Werefox in the face on-screen with no flash; then Werefox tries to crush Goliath's head, so Goliath does the BALOO POWER OF THE PUNCH (From Here To Machinery style off-screen, we see the punch, but there is a flash, only without the spinning newspaper that comes afterwards) as we do a really sloppy Greco-Roman knuckle lock for a while as Eliza gets out her gun and tries to aim for Werefox; but doesn't have a clear shot, so Goliath simply throws her into the steel folding door with mustard. Goliath is ready to pounce on her; when Xanatos drops down. They accuse him of creating another mutant which David half admits that this is what happened as he tries to grab the Eye of Odin and does the best over sell of being fried with electrical beams and flies into the boxes which seems to be magically restacked on cue. Sigh. So Werefox gets Goliath from behind and we HIT THE CHINLOCK~! Goliath throws her away and tries to tell her that Xanatos is an enemy and therefore they are friends. That backfires as Werefox bails stage left and we jump cut to an empty alleyway with a trashcan rolling. Ummm; yeah.
So Eliza points her gun at Xanatos proclaiming that he isn't going anywhere; but Xanatos blows it off and jetpacks himself into the skies and out of sight. Goliath goes over to Eliza who is lurched on the ground almost ready to cry because it brings back bad memories of Derek Maza/Talon which is a nice bit of continuity; although the selling could have been better. Goliath then notices Xanatos returning to Wyvern Castle as we cut to Xanatos landing on the rampart as Owen proclaims that Plan B2 was not successful; but Xanatos thinks he has Plan C in place since he'll just let Goliath deal with her and then get the Eye of Odin back from Goliath somehow. Which is a brilliant plan; except that it is thwarted instantly as Goliath and Eliza land on the rampart calling him out on his manipulations. HA! They ask if Xanatos has a plan D and Xanatos is not happy to hear about this as we end the segment 14 and 1/4 minutes in. FINALLY! Goliath grows a brain! I knew that reading in the public library has paid off. See; that's GREAT booking there. The jump cuts; not so much good booking!
After the commercial break; we get the stare down as we exchange notes and harsh thought on each other as Xanatos admits that it's Fox and Goliath teases leaving with Eliza once; but David asks them to wait and this time, he sounds like he gives a damn for once. And not the usual psychopathic way either. Goliath doesn't like Fox either and wants David to give him one good reason why he should help him as David reminds Goliath of losing his loved ones as Eliza pleas for Goliath not to do it because this is his plan D and might have E and F in session. Goliath ponders it and then no sells the deal as he goes to the edge with Eliza and proclaims that this is not a good night for him and then flies off. You should have went for the "hold up" method of exposing the Gargoyles on national television David. Even Goliath would sell that deal! Best part of this was after David explained that he had no idea that the Eye of Odin had metamorphic properties; Goliath counters claiming that she turned into the true personification of her. Now that's a great comeback line! Owen informs David that she has little time left and the Red Goliath will require two to three days to repair. Yeap; this is not a good night for David Xanatos! So we head to the streets for the big block party as everyone is in costume including the Gargoyles themselves; despite the fact that they are Gargoyles and therefore they are already playing the costume part every night! AHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Lexington is dressed like Launchpad McQuack I should note while Brooklyn is dressed like a stereotypical pirate and Broadway is dressed up like the detective from The Silver Falcon. Damn; I was hoping he would dress like Tummi, just to complete the obvious inspiration of his character. I was hoping Lex would have dressed like the Crimson Avenger and Brooklyn dress up like an artist; although he does come dangerously close.
And then the entire costume crowd notices the costume within a costume that the goofballs are wearing and they go over and praise the outfits. Where's Hudson and Bronx? I would love to see Hudson be Shaggy and Bronx Scooby Doo here. AHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! POW! CHOMP! OUCH! OUCH! Ummmmm... I guess they are watching television...AGAIN! So we get a fool dancing around (how symbolic of David Xanatos' plight right now huh?) as we pan left to see Goliath with Eliza dressed up like Belle from the Disney film Beauty & The Beast (which was a big inspiration in deciding to go with drama instead of comedy as per what the San Diego Comic Con panelist said a month ago) while Goliath doesn't dress up. Well; he is a beast, so it works rather well, albeit awfully odd. You know; if they wanted to go for some real funky booking, they should have Xanatos be the werewolf instead of Fox and then he comes in after Eliza; while Fox takes the role of David and gets blown off by Goliath. The quality would be the same; but the joke would be even more symbolic. Oh well; c'est la vie. So they go past the barricade and they DANCE, DANCE...oh wait; not falling for it again like I did in Fish Talent Show in Fish Hooks. That is just asking for a flushed toilet in Oscar's future. So this goes on for a while as we pan over to the alleyway with the goofballs watching on and proclaiming that they should have this more often. I certainly would like that; dentists won't, but hey! At least they'll make some coin in the process so there is an upside to it. So we scene change as Eliza and Goliath go down an alleyway and a werewolf crosses their path which causes Goliath to pounce on him. However; the mask comes off and it's a blond boy blowing Goliath off. The pants showed before he pounced clearly showed that it wasn't Werefox. Speaking of the devilette; where is she? Goliath gets up as the werewolf boy storms off. Goliath then stops and asks if Xanatos is telling the truth and thus is dying. Eliza tells him to forget about it because Xanatos is a chronic liar see.
Goliath proclaims that he knows; but Werefox is a danger to his city and his castle. Plus; if Xanatos can love, then there is hope for this world. Eliza asks if he is going to help David and Goliath proclaims that he will and just the split second he sezs that; out comes Xanatos in a trench coat and hat. Eliza wants answers to this outrage and David grabs Goliath's back wing and brings out the bug of doom and proclaims that old habits die hard. The problem with this is: We never saw David even come close to making contact with Goliath's body during the entire episode. Dumb logic break is a dumb logic break. So Xanatos brings out the remote control tracking device as the babyfaces are not amused. He proclaims that she is not far away and we head back to the block party as someone is dressed up like a panda and Brooklyn and Broadway are at the pretzel stand. I can predict the outcome without watching this that they order stuff; but have no money with them...Oh wait; that doesn't happen as Broadway gets a hot dog and Brooklyn tosses a pretzel to Lexington who catches it. Broadway proclaims that it doesn't get any better than this and belches. And people accuse Fanboy & Chum Chum of this BS?! Then we hear screaming as various costume denizens (including one wearing an anthro duck costume as we see a building being destroyed. The goofball are about to run in as Lexington claims that it's Fox. Wait; how does Lexington know it's Fox?! Goliath blocks the entrance and invokes the LEGAL HAND OF GOD. Why? Because he wants to deal with it silly! Belle Eliza and David Xanatos follow Goliath into the shop which apparently is storage for vendors and has decorations on it including many pentacles. So close...so damn close. We are now up to Scroogerello levels of religious symbols here.
So we look around while Xanatos closes the double doors as we pan up to the window as there is a full moon and here comes Werefox. She pounces down to ground level and takes down Xanatos with ease; but Goliath puts her in the full nelson. So Goliath has been reading professional wrestling books lately; or Hudson has been watching pro wrestling and teaching Goliath new tricks. Either answer is plausible. Goliath loses the grip during the struggle as Eliza goes for her gun; but Xanatos steals it and crushes it like Broadway on speed. Geez; he hates bullet shooting guns as much as Broadway now. So we destroy a concession stand in the chaos and Goliath gets thrown out of the door and right into a slow passing car which impacts against a lamp pole. HOLY CRAP! And it's the couple from Awakening Part Three! This is a special day! So the werewolf follows outside as the denizens all shatter. Werefox climbs onto the hood of the couple's crumpled up car and climbs up a brick building. Goliath jumps onto the hood of said car and follows her as the goofballs are shocked and appalled. Broadway is eating his detective hat as Eliza and Xanatos run in. Xanatos takes off the jacket and is about to jetpack up (since he's still wearing the suit and trying hard not to copy Tony Stark from Iron Man); but Eliza grabs him and proclaims that she trusts him as much as she can throw him. Which is only about an inch give or take. Xanatos has no time to argue the point; so he rocket up with Eliza in tow. It's kind of weird seeing this when you consider that Eliza is dressed like Belle and Xanatos is playing Gaston; only he's in love with The Beast. So Goliath climbs onto the roof as he looks around and we notice Werefox a floor higher than Goliath looking on from there while Goliath turns the corner out of sight. Eliza and David land on the roof and Werefox jumps down and advances towards David as David pleas with her to notice him. Werefox's eyes return to normal as she sees David complete with white waves which is straight out of anime and then pan over to Eliza who instantly turns to Fox on cue.
This I think implies that Eliza has stolen David's hand in marriage because in the next shot, Werefox goes into yellow eyes mode and then pounces on Eliza which in her position would have sent them crashing to ground level dead. Just to make this even more absurd and make the old farts look like hypocrites; Goliath jumps in between them and takes the shot for Eliza instead. That's not the hypocritical part. The hypocrisy in this is that this sequence was done in slow motion. You know; the same thing every modern cartoon does and we trash them for it?! Damon and Jason are right; these old farts are getting what they deserve for their moronic arguments. And Goliath manages to power throws Werefox into the back of the neon sign and she takes a tumble onto the roof. Goliath then pounces on Werefox and pins her against the purple neon sign as she is shocked. He yells to Xanatos to run in and he does and grabs the Eye of Odin and gets fried again; but this time he manages to pull the necklace off of her and both Goliath and Xanatos step back as we get sparks flying much to the horror of Eliza. And yes; the sign is destroyed; as 80% of the purple light bulb explode on cue as Werefox drops to her knees after getting the shock. And if anyone has read my rants; this spot was lifted for the finish in So The Drama when Kim Possible punched Shego into the transmitter tower. Shego is also a word in the first opening of the Gundam Victory theme song. Yeah; I'm random today, what can I say? Werefox does the Live A Live scream of death and then finally drops on her face and she's back to normal as Eliza takes her yellow skirt and wraps Fox with it as they actually showed her naked body. Probably the only time you'll see that in DTVA in human form (although it has been done to death in anthros; even females as seen in The Wuzzles; discounting a Rescue Ranger's episode which was a wolf turning into a naked man...); as a helicopter shows a spotlight and lands on the roof. Owen comes out as David grabs Fox as Goliath proclaims that she is alive. Goliath demands that David give him the Eye of Odin because he doesn't trust him with it. David then decides to give it to him and proclaims that he found his weakness. Goliath's response and I'm paraphrasing here:
Goliath: Only you would regard love as a weakness!
See; that is a great comeback line. The goofballs of doom climb up as Lexington appears to be teasing pouncing on a hapless Fox; but Goliath blocks and tells them that it's over and it's time to go home. David wasn't amused by Goliath's line as he carries Fox in his arms and goes over to Owen who proclaims that Goliath has a point; and therefore he looked heroic. David smiles; but sezs that this is only a momentary of lapse and it won't happen again. Fox finally wakes up asking what happened; and David claims that it was a bad dream, but it's over now. David proclaims that Goliath is right as it's time to go home as he walks off stage left while Owen beams with a slight smile (now that one fits Owen unlike A Lighthouse In The Sea Of Time) and that ends the episode at 21:00. Minor stupidity aside; this episode was awesome! And hey; Gargoyles fans got to see Fox naked. That's your 22 minutes right there! Oh; and the storyline was great too. **** 1/4 (85%).
THE REVIEW LINE
So the sub arc of Fox/David gets off on the right foot in terms of quality as I enjoyed the booking here with Goliath finally growing a brain in finally countering Xanatos' plans of manipulation; only to realize that the monster is just as dangerous for the city as for David Xanatos himself. I loved that booking. Everything was built up and performed perfectly here; the only things that bothered me were the whiplash jump cuts and several mistakes done by the animators; but they pulled it off perfectly. The finish was great; including the spot where Fox almost believed Eliza stole Xanatos from her in a symbolic spot and we got the money shot where Fox gets fried on the electrical sign which was really scary (made more so by David trying to get the Eye of Odin away from her) and they even built up the unexpected spot of Fox lying on her side naked (betcha that was cut by Toon Disney (along with the finish itself) and they built that up nicely with the coat and hat earlier on. That was awesome! This is the Gargoyles old farts remember; not the one that was a combination of greatness and stupid 1980's moral booking that they promised not to do. Overall; I loved this episode and David came off the most heroic tweener ever as he redeemed himself somewhat. I also like Goliath's counter comebacks in speaking as it's clear now that all that reading has paid off handsomely while at the same time; not losing all of his heart in the process. So next up is the disc one finale known as Vow as we have the wedding and it's taking place at Wyvern Castle. The question should be: Which time? Yeah. So....
Thumbs up for this episode and I'll see you all next time.